Wolves gameday

6:30 P.M. at Boston • TD Garden FSN plus/NBA TV, 830-am

Preview: The 14-13 Celtics have lost three consecutive games and four of their past five after Friday's 109-101 home loss to Atlanta. They lost at Detroit and to Cleveland at home before that. They are 7-8 since point guard Marcus Smart was injured in a Nov. 20 game against Brooklyn. He has not played since. …The Celtics are 7-7 at home and 7-6 on the road. The Wolves are 4-10 at home and 7-6 on the road. Those seven road victories equal last season's total, when they went 7-34. … The teams split last season's two-game series, with each team winning on its home floor. The Celtics won 114-98 in Boston on the day the Wolves traded Corey Brewer to Houston just before Christmas, and the Wolves won 110-98 at Target Center in late January.

Players to watch: With four steals in Sunday's 100-85 victory at Brooklyn, Wolves starting point guard Ricky Rubio has surpassed 500 in his career and needs two more to move past Brewer (502) into second place on the franchise's all-time list. Kevin Garnett is first with 1,306. ... Celtics starting forward and former Marquette star Jae Crowder scored a career-high 24 points and had 10 rebounds in Friday's loss to the Hawks. He helps lead the fourth-best defense in the NBA.

Injuries: Wolves C Nikola Pekovic (Achilles' tendon surgery) is getting closer by the day to returning to full practice, but he remains out indefinitely for now. Boston's Smart isn't expected back for another week or two at least.

JERRY ZGODA